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November Issue
2009
Redux Contemporary
Art Center in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Joe Johnson
Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Mega Churches, a photography exhibition by Joe Johnson, on view from Nov. 5 - Dec. 18, 2009.
Mega Churches have inspired thousands of Christian worshippers to gather within vast post-modern architectural spaces across the nation. Megalithic in size, these converted Hilton hotels and restored theaters are transformed into halls of prayer each Sunday through performative rituals and multimedia spectacles. Most definitions require that a minimum of 2000 worshippers must attend the weekend service for the building to attain the "Mega Church" status.
Specifically Johnson is photographing the empty interior architecture and sanctuary spaces where worship is performed. He uses the descriptive power of photography to construct a personal vocabulary with which he can communicate what interests him about a subject. Johnson tends to gravitate to subjects that have some inherent tension and mystery.
With the Mega Church project, an interesting point of tension lies in a secular treatment of contemporary religious practice within Mega Churches. Johnson's photographs attempt to reveal the mechanics of creating faith by capturing the wires, computers, light bulbs, and cords that are used to construct mysteries on stage for the faithful. The rawness of the abandoned mega-space and the eerie familiarity of its commercial fixtures question the intention and business of faith in the 21st century.
Johnson received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001. In 2004, he received his Masters of Fine Arts in Photography from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. He has exhibited widely in the northeastern and Midwestern United States. Mega Churches in Charleston will be his debut solo exhibition in the Southeast. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Missouri.
Redux Contemporary Art Center is a non-profit gallery, studio, and education center. Through diverse programming and a full studio facility, Redux promotes and encourages all forms of artistic creation, while introducing and educating the public to current trends of contemporary visual art.
For further information
check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Center at
843/722-0697 or visit (www.reduxstudios.org).
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